Spotlights
Students, Faculty & Alumni
Student Spotlight: Elissa Everton
Despite being a New Jersey native, Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) graduate student Elissa Everton has no intention of leaving Boston. “Are you kidding me? This is the powerhouse of biomedical research. Everyone you meet here is involved in something awesome,” Everton said. The fifth-year graduate student’s path didn’t always seem so clear; before coming to BUSM, Everton studied biotechnology and biochemistry at Rutgers University and didn’t plan on getting an advanced degree. However, after... More
GMS Students Receive Funding For Medical Device Designs
MInT, or the Medical Innovation and Technology entrepreneurship program, launched in spring 2021 thanks to innovation-minded graduate students from Graduate Medical Sciences at BUSM, College of Engineering, School of Public Health and Questrom School of Business. The goal of MInT is to empower early-career scientists with hands-on medical innovation design experience. Four teams of BU students pitched designs that won funding awards totaling approximately $12,000 from sponsors of MInT, including Innovate@BU/The BUild Lab and the Technology Development Office. The MInT... More
Healthcare Emergency Management Program Trains COVID-19 Response Workforce
Kevin “Kip” Thomas, MBA, PhD, Program Director for the MS in Healthcare Emergency Management, had been working as Executive Secretary of Homeland Security when he completed a vulnerability assessment for Washington D.C. and certified the national labs. That assessment led him to notice a void in the healthcare side of emergency management, and he realized the best way to address this was through education. While working for the Pentagon, Thomas met Peter Bergethon, MD, Head of... More
Alumni Spotlight: Alaina Geary (GMS ‘20)
Alaina Geary is a September 2020 graduate of the Health Professions Education program and a current surgical resident at Boston Medical Center. She recently won a McCahan Day award for her project: 3-Year Evaluation of a Resident-As-Teacher Program for General Surgery Residents. Q: Can you talk a bit about how your background in medical education inspired your McCahan Day project? A: I have been involved in medical education work since medical school. I went to Tufts and... More
Program Spotlight: Summer Research as Training Scholars (STaRS)
Boston University Summer Training as Research Scholars (BU STaRS) is a summer-long program designed to promote access to graduation education for traditionally underrepresented students in research and medicine. Scholars are provided with the opportunity for research, enhancing skills required for admission to graduate programs. Each STaRS scholar is paired with a faculty mentor to participate in research projects of varied interests not limited to substance abuse disorders, neuroscience, and cancer research. In addition, the STaRS program provides... More
GMS Faculty Awards Celebrate Excellence in Teaching
To recognize faculty who adapted quickly and successfully during the COVID-19 crisis and continued to provide students with quality education, mentoring and research experiences, GMS recently created new awards for faculty excellence. GMS students nominated faculty members whose efforts really stood out during the pandemic and the shift to remote learning. The award was broken down into four categories: Didactic teaching in GMS master’s programs Mentorship in GMS master’s programs Didactic teaching in GMS doctoral programs Mentorship... More
Fadie Coleman Wins 2021 Metcalf Award
Teaching her first class last fall at the School of Medicine, postdoctoral associate Marianne Collard naturally had beginner’s jitters. But in Fadie Coleman, Collard found a mentor who’d taught students from college to middle and high school—and was only too happy to teach a fellow teacher. “I met with Dr. Coleman weekly, where she helped me refine my syllabus, plan class lessons, and evaluate students’ learning,” providing guidance that was “exceptional,” Collard wrote in a letter... More
Student Spotlight: Ryen Wilson
Ryen Wilson is a Masters' student in the Oral Health Sciences program, who hopes to become a general dentist and work with queer, trans, and nonbinary survivors of partner abuse. Ryen is graduating in September of 2021. What drove you to pursue a career in science? I’m originally from Fredericksburg, Virginia. I went to the University of Virginia and I majored in Theater. I started getting interested in science during my fourth year, but I didn’t really... More
Student Spotlight: Kiloni Quiles-Franco
Kiloni Quiles-Franco is a PhD student studying Molecular and Translational Medicine at GMS. She is currently the co-host of Vitamin PhD, a podcast produced at Boston University for anyone who is pursuing a doctorate, has a doctorate, or supporting others on their doctoral journey. The podcast's fourth season is focusing on conversations with student organizations, faculty members, and staff from across BU schools and colleges about diversity and anti-racism. Co-hosts Kiloni and Khadija El-Karfi (Romance Studies)... More
Four GMS Faculty Members Promoted to Professor
Join us in celebrating the following Graduate Medical Sciences faculty, who have been promoted to the rank of Professor: Rachel Fearns Rachel Fearns, PhD, MED, Microbiology, is a virologist known for her work in the field of non-segmented, negative sense RNA viruses, specifically in dissecting the molecular mechanisms by which the viral genome is transcribed and replicated by the viral polymerase. Her expertise has been sought after to write definitive reviews on viral polymerases and transcription/ replication... More